Lamp shade and lamp shade frame



Sept. 19, 1939. A. BURKE 2,173,547

LAMP SHADE AND LAMP SHADE FRAME Filed Aug. 28, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 19, 1939 2,1

U N I T E D S 'IA'l E S iAT E N 'l F F i E LAMP SHADE AND LAMP SHADE FRAME Alfred Burke, New York, N. Y.

Application August 28, 1936, Serial No. 98,377

4 Claims. (01. 240-108) This invention relates to lamp shades and lamp views, partly in section, of different forms of lamp shade frames. shades embodying the present invention;

Lamp shades of the type in which the cover- Fig. 5 is a perspective view, with part of the ing for the frame comprises sheet material such shade covering omitted, illustrating another form 5 as waxed or parchmentized' paper, stiffened cloth, 01 the present invention; 5 etc., are easily damaged, especially during pack- Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly ing, shipping and display thereof, by reason of in section, showing a yet further form of the inthe fact that the upper and lower edges of the vention; sheet material are frequently bent or torn. It is, Fig. '7 is a perspective view illustrating a lamp l0 therefore, an object of the present invention to shade frame assembled from separate members provide a lamp shade frame constructed and arin accordance with one form of the present inranged to protect the edges of the shade covering vention;

against being bent, torn or otherwise damaged. Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are detail sectional views on In lamp shades of the type in which pleated the lines 8-8, 99 and Ill-iii, respectively, of

material is used as the shade covering, it has Fig. 7; heretofore been the practice to secure the cover- Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a lamp shade ing to the frame by means of cords. In order to illustrating a further form of the present invenconceal the attaching cords, it is necessary to tion, part of the shade covering being omitted for closely space the pleats of the covering material. the purpose of illustration;

For this reason a relatively large quantity of ma- Fig. 12 is a detail View of the connection be 20 terial is necessary for covering the frame. Antween the lamp fixture and the shade illustrated other object of the present invention is to elimiin Fig.

hate the use of cords or similar means for at- Fig. 13 is a detail view of a connection between taching the cover to the frame, thereby making the lamp fixture and frame illustrated in Fig. '7;

it possible to use flatter pleats and thus decrease and 25 the quantity of covering material and thereby Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 13, showing a reduce the cost of the shade. modification.

A further object of the invention is to provide Referring to the drawings in detail, and first a lamp shade frame in which the rods heretofore to the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1,

employed for connecting the upper and lower the lamp shade I 51 comprises a wire frame inframe members may be eliminated, if so desired. eluding a pair of upper rings I 2 and a pair of Another object of the invention is to provide a lower rings I6 and I8, and cross rods secured lamp shade frame which may be readily at their opposite ends to the outermost rings l4 sembled from suitable frame members which may and 58 and also at points adjacent said ends to be secured together without theuse of solder and the inner rings I 2 and Said rods may 33.: 35 without welding or brazing. connected to said rings in any suitable way, as by Another object of the invention is to provide a soldering. It will be observed that th rods 25 lamp shade in which the covering material is have bent end portions 22 and extending outsecured to the frame members without additional wardly from points adjacent the rings 12 and l S,

fastening means or devices. respectively, to the rings I 1 and E8, to which the 4,0

A yet further object is generally to improve ends of said rods are connected. The lamp shade lamp shades and frames therefor, and more parcovering 26, here shown as composed of pleated ticularly, to provide at reduced cost lamp shades sheet material, is bent around the fram in the of improved construction. usual manner, but instead of projecting at the The above and other objects of the invention upper and lower edges thereof beyond the frame 45 will be more fully understood as the description is positioned between the upper ring i t and the proceeds, reference being had to the accompanylower ring I with the inner face of said covering ing drawings forming a part of the present specior more specifically, the folds in the pleats therefication. of, bearing against the rings l2 and it. The

In the drawings: covering is secured in said position by cords 28 50 Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly in section, of and 30 which pass through aligned apertures in a lamp shade embodying one form of the present the pleats of the covering in the customary maninvention, part of the covering material being ner and hold said covering against the upper omitted for the sake of clearness and illustration; and lower inner rings I2 and It Since the Figs. 2, 3 and are fragmentary. perspective frame members, that is, the upper and lower outer rings I4 and I8 overlie the opposite edges of the covering, axial displacement of the covering in relation to the frame is prevented. Hence, it is unnecessary to wind the attaching cord 30 about the lower frame ring, as heretofore, although this can be done if so desired. It will be noticed that the location of the frame members I 4 and I8 outwardly beyond the adjacent edges of the frame covering and substantially in alignment therewith not only serves to prevent relative axial displacement of frame and cover, but what is even more important, serves to protect said edges of the cover against tearing, bending or other damage.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig, 2, the frame of the lamp shade 32 comprises upper and lower annular frame members 34 and 36 connected by rods 38. Said frame members 34 and 35 are of angular formation in cross section, and each comprises a substantially horizontal flange and a substantially vertical flange, frame member 34 having horizontal and vertical flanges 40 and 42, respectively, and frame member 36 having horizontal and vertical flanges 44 and 46, respectively. It will be observed that the pleated shade cover 48 has its inner folded portions positioned against said vertical flanges and that the horizontal flanges 40 and 44 of the frame members extend outwardly over the opposite edges of said cover. Cords 49 and 50 passing through aligned apertures in the pleated cover 48 serve to hold the latter in position on the frame, said horizontal flanges 40 and 44 preventing axial displacement of said cover in relation to the frame.

In Fig. 3 the frame of the lamp shade 52 may be constructed in the same way as the frame of the lamp shade I0 illustrated in Fig. 1 but as here shown the cover 54 is composed of flat unpleated sheet material. Said cover is held in position by the engagement of the side edges thereof between the pairs of rings 56 and 58. The material of the cover is sufiiciently stiff and flexible for this purpose. Said cover may be held in position on the frame by securing the opposite ends of the cover in overlapping relation with the cover positioned snugly against the frame rings 56 and 58, the outer rings and 57 preventing axial displacement of the cover. Alternatively, said cover may be adhesively secured to the outer peripheral portions of rings 55 and 58, especially when the latter are made of or are coated with non-metallic material which would facilitate the adhesive bonding of said cover to the rings. Thus, for example, the rings 50 and 58 may be made of wood, Celluloid, phenol condensation products, etc., to which the cover 54 may be readily adhered by means of an appropriate adhesive.

The lamp shade 62 illustrated in Fig. 4 is similar to the shade illustrated in Fig. 2, but as in the case of the lamp shade 52, shown in Fig. 3, cover 64 is composed of unpleated or flat sheet material. The upper and lower annular frame members 56 and 68 are flanged vertically and horizontally and thus may be combined with the cover 84 in the same manner as the flanged frame members are associate-d with the cover 48 of lamp shade 32. However, as here shown, the attaching cords are dispensed with and instead the cover 64 may be secured in any suitable way, such as those described in connection with the description of shade 52. Like, the latter, shade 62 may comprise non-metallic frame members 66 and 68, and more particularly, said frame members may be made of such materials as wood, Celluloid, phenol condensation products, etc.

In Fig. 5 there is illustrated a lamp shade I0, the frame of which is similar to the frame of lamp shade 32, and as here shown, comprises an upper flanged ring I2, a lower flanged ring I4, and connecting rods I6. The pleated cover 18 is secured in position about the frame by a plurality of metal clips or staples 80 passing through the coverlapping end portion of the cover. It will be understood, of course, that the cover 18 need not be pleated, but may be made of flat material like the cover 54 of the lamp shade 52. The frame members 12 and may be made from strips of drawn wire of angular form as shown, a suitable length of such wire being bent into circular formation and their ends soldered together as indicated by the reference numerals and 84 for the rings and I4, respectively. A conventional lamp fixture 86 of any suitable form may be secured to a vertical flange of the upper ring I2. It will be noticed that the horizontal flanged members of the frame members extend outwardly beyond the edges of the cover I 8 and thus protect the latter against damage and also hold the cover in proper relation axially of the frame without additional attaching means.

The lamp shade 90 illustrated in Fig. 6 is similar to the lamp shade 62 with the exception that the cross rods of the frame are eliminated and the cover 98 is secured to the flanged rings 52 and 94 by means of rivets or eyelets 96. It will be understood that such cover is made of material such as stiffened cloth or parchmentized paper which is self-sustaining and stiff enough to hold the rings 92 and 94 in spaced relation. It will be understood also that a suitable lamp fixture, such as the lamp fixture 86, will be connected to the vertical flanges of the upper ring 92 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 5 in connection with lamp shade Fig. '7 illustrates a lamp shade frame which may be used in accordance with the present invention, for example, for the frame of lamp shades, 32, 62 and As here shown, the frame comprises an upper ring I00 and a lower ring I02, each made of sections of sheet metal strips. The upper ring member I 00 has a curved beaded edge I04, while the lower ring member I 02 has a flattened beaded edge I 06. Said rings are connected by metal strips I 08 which are provided with tongue portions I I0, tongue portions of three of the strips passing through circumferentially spaced slots I I2 in both rings in the manner illustrated in Fig. 9. As illustrated in Figs. 8 and 10, the ends of the rings I00 and I02 overlap each other and are provided with aligned slots I I4 and I I 6 respectively, through which the tongue portions I I 0 of one of the strips I 08 extend for holding the ends of said rings together and also for connecting this particular strip to the rings. The frame thus constructed may be produced at low cost and may be used in the same way as the frames illustrated in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, the frame cover (not shown) being mounted so that the inner surface portions thereof bear against the vertical flanges of the rings I00 and I02, and the horizontal flanges I04 and I 06 of said rings pro jecting outwardly beyond opposite side edges of the cover to protect said edges and to hold the cover in proper position on the frame. It will be understood that a conventional lamp fixture may be connected to the ring I00 in any suitable Way preferably by soldering the ends of the fixture to the inner surface of the ring I 00. However, when the frame member is non-metallic, or if for some other reason a soldered connection is not desired, the lamp fixture may be connected at its ends to the frame member in some other manner, as for example, that illustrated in Fig. 13. As here shown, the wires 83 of the lamp fixture 86 are provided with offset ends which are received in non-circular slots 81 in the vertical flange, at diametrically opposite points. As illustrated in Fig. when the lamp fixture comprises a single wire 89, the offset end portions 9| thereof are flattened to thereby hold said wire against rotation when the wire is circular.

In accordance with another form of the present invention, the lamp shade I 20 (Fig. 11) comprises a pleated cover I 22 having a plurality of aligned apertures, here shown as elongated slots I24 adjacent the opposite edges of the cover. A band I passes through the slots adjacent the upper edge of the cover, and a band I28 passes through the slots adjacent the lower edge of said cover. Said bands may be made of metal or of non-metallic material, such as Celluloid, fishbone, wood, or any other suitable material which may be bent into circular configuration. It will be understood that in making a shade of this type, a suitable length of the pleated material is provided with slots I24, and that the bands I 26 and I28 are passed therethrough and bent into proper form and then connected at their ends in any suitable way. After the covering material is 'assembled on the bands a lamp fixture I 30 may be secured to the upper band in any suitable way, as for example, that shown in Fig. 12, according to which the ends I32 of the fixture wire are bent around said band.

While I have shown several embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that the latter is capable of other specific embodiments and that certain variations in the constructions herein shown may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A lamp shade comprising a frame and a covering of flexible sheet material therefor, said frame including upper and lower members each having an inner peripheral portion and an outer peripheral portion projecting outwardly over the upper and lower edges, respectively, of said covering and substantially in alignment therewith whereby the edges of said covering are protected by said frame members, frame members connecting said upper and lower members in fixed spaced relation, said covering engaging said inner peripheral portions of said upper and lower members and attachable to and removable from said frame while said upper and lower frame members are in said fixed spaced relation.

2. A lamp shade comprising a frame and a covering of flexible sheet material therefor, said frame including upper and lower members, each having a substantially vertical flange and a substantially horizontal flange, said last mentioned flange of each frame member extending outwardly over and substantially in alignment with the adjacent edge of said covering to protect the edges of the latter, frame members connecting said upper and lower peripheral members in fixed spaced relation, said flanges terminating in free edges disposed above and below the adjacent edges, respectively, of the frame covering at the top and bottom of the frame.

3. A lamp shade frame adapted to have a covering of sheet material secured thereto, said frame including upper and lower peripheral members, each having a substantially vertical flange and a substantially horizontal flange, said last mentioned flange of each frame member extending outwardly over and substantially in alignment with the adjacent edge of said covering to protect the edges of the latter, frame members connecting said upper and lower peripheral members in fixed spaced relation, said flanges terminating in free edges disposed above and below the adjacent edges, respectively, of the frame covering at the top and bottom of the frame.

4. A lamp shade frame adapted to have a covering of sheet material secured thereto, said frame including upper and lower peripheral members, each of said members having an angle formation constituted by substantially vertical and horizontal flanges, the face of said covering adjacent one of its edges lying against said vertical flange, means for securing said covering in said position, said horizontal flanges of said members extending over and protecting the adjacent edges of the covering when the latter is secured to the frame, frame members connecting said upper and lower peripheral members in fixed spaced relation, said horizontal flanges terminating in free edges disposed above and below the adjacent edges, respectively, of the frame covering at the top and bottom of the frame.

ALLE'RED BURKE. 

